Planning
Have you considered what you want to grow and the season? Do you want vegetables, herbs or flowers? If you want to grow vegetables or herbs, identify which vegetables you and your family want to eat. Certain vegetables grow in different seasons; the same goes for flowers. Start small until you know what you want and what you will get. Check out this link to decide what to plant: Florida Gardening Calendar.
Location
Choosing the right location for your garden is an important decision. Vegetables and flowers need about six to eight hours of full sun per day. That being said, look at your yard throughout the day to see which area has the most sun exposure. If your garden has more shade, some plants enjoy the shade more than the sun.
Clean the floor
It’s time to get your hands dirty! Cleaning the soil is an important part of your garden. You should cut and turn the grass with a concave shovel. Once this step is completed, either re-seed the grass elsewhere or place it in your compost pile to break it down.
Improve the soil
Vegetables and flowers grow best in fertilized soil. In new gardens, the topsoil can wear away or erode. Residential flooring generally needs reinforcement. Your soil could be too wet, infertile, or too acidic. To help with this problem, add a two- to three-inch layer of compost consisting of decomposed leaves, dried grass clippings, or old manure to the soil. To learn more about your soil, you can have a soil test done at your local extension office. This will tell you exactly what you need to make your soil fertile.
Work the ground.
Now that the soil has been improved let’s get to work! Preparing the soil for planting will facilitate the insertion of the roots into the ground. Additionally, it facilitates plants’ access to nutrients and water so they can grow. There are two ways to work the soil: tilling and digging. Tillage is the process of cultivating soil with a rototiller, a mechanical tool. However, the rototiller has more potential drawbacks than benefits. Microorganisms and earthworms may be disturbed by it. Over-tilling the soil can harm plant roots and the soil’s structure, or it can make the soil too wet or dry. Digging is a more practical method of preparing small bases than the first one.
How to Select Plants
Now for the exciting part! The selection of your plants comes next. Make sure the plants you choose are appropriate for the amount of sun your garden will receive as well as your climate. Here is a list of options and a guide to help you choose: The Vegetable Guide for Florida.
Planting
Keep in mind that different seasons are ideal for different plants to grow. For instance, kale and miltonia prefer cool temperatures, but tomatoes prefer warm temperatures. Certain plants, like sunflowers and lettuce, do best when grown from seed. To increase your chances of success, always research the plant you plan to plant.
Hydrating
Giving your plants enough water is essential, and watering is a must. Although you should water your plants less frequently as they grow, seedlings should never be left dry. Consideration should be given to both the amount of rainfall and humidity in a given week when watering.
Protection
Apply mulch to your garden to keep weeds out! Mulch will aid in preserving moisture and stop the germination of weed seeds. Mulches come in a lot of different varieties to help keep your garden safe.
Take Care
You’ve arrived at the last stage! It’s crucial to continue watering your plants, pulling weeds, and fertilizing the soil now that your garden should be flourishing.
Following all of your hard work in designing, getting ready, and planting your garden, you’ll soon.